Solapur set to become major uniform and garments mfg hub

Mumbai : Solapur district in Maharashtra has sought investments from national and international garment manufacturers to make it a major uniform and garment manufacturing hub, a senior industry official said here.

“Following Union Government’s initiative to set up Garments Park and new MIDC, Solapur known for its manufacturing skills is set to become major uniform and garment manufacturing hub in the coming years,” Solapur Readymade Kapad Utpadak Sangh, vice president Nilesh Shah told reporters here.

“We invite national and international garment manufacturers to invest in this region as Solapur has the potential to become supplier for school uniforms for the whole country,” he said.

It has more than 1,000 garment manufacturing units at present and is well connected with the rest of the country with rail and road network and the nearest airports being Mumbai, Pune and Hyderabad.

Solapur attracts investment for setting up of garment industries in Maharashtra primarily due to easy availability of transportation, labour and raw materials, Shah said.

The district is already contributing 6 to 7 per cent of trade volume of the country’s Rs 18,000 crore uniform manufacturing industry.

The industry in India has an aggregate volume of Rs 18,000 crore out of which Rs 10,000 crore is already catered by uniform manufacturing industry. Solapur is witnessing higher demand for school uniforms, kids garments, gents and ladies dresses and hence this industry is witnessing good progress in the region, he said.

In view of showcasing its potential, Solapur Readymade Kapad Utpadak Sangh in association with the Textile Ministry of the Government of Maharashtra is organising country’s first international uniform and garment exhibition at Solapur between January 5-7.

The fair will highlight capabilities of Solapur, which in turn would lead to the setting up of more garment factories and thus more jobs in both the skilled and unskilled areas will be created, Solapur Garment Manufacturers Association Joint Secretary Amitkumar Jain said.

Delegates from over nine countries have confirmed visit to the exhibition. As many as 6000 retailers from across the country are expected to visit the fair.